Chapter 1

1

During those eight terrifying seconds when the plane went into a sudden freefall, my vision went completely black.

My first and only thought was how devastated Valerie would be if I never walked out of the terminal.

Yet, after surviving that brush with death and landing safely, my relief was shattered.

The moment I opened my phone, I saw her new social media post featuring a hiking selfie with her childhood best friend, Chase.

Her caption read: "Hope I can still be this wild with you when we're sixty."

In the past, I would have blown up her phone in a panic and started a massive fight.

Now, having just stared death in the face, a profound exhaustion washed over me.

I simply typed out a message: "Let's get a divorce."

……

The couple sitting next to me were weeping in each other's arms.

Like me, the young man was still trembling from surviving the near disaster.

In the airport lounge, passengers frantically called their loved ones to report that they were safe.

Watching how quickly their calls were answered, I let out a bitter, self-deprecating chuckle.

Right after the emergency landing, before I could even steady my breath, I had called Valerie.

It rang for barely a second before she sent me straight to voicemail.

I tried to comfort myself, thinking she was probably waiting anxiously at the arrivals gate.

When I opened the app to message her, I saw her post from just minutes ago.

It was a photo of her and Chase standing shoulder to shoulder on a mountaintop, their cheeks practically pressed together.

That single sentence turned my life-or-death panic into a pathetic joke.

During those eight seconds of freefall, I feared my wife would drown in grief over my death.

Meanwhile, she was making wishes to spend the rest of her life running wild with another man.

Within half an hour, breaking news about our flight hit national headlines.

The cockpit windshield had suddenly shattered mid-flight, and the captain had manually landed the aircraft despite rapid decompression and sub-zero temperatures.

My parents called in tears the moment they saw the news, and friends flooded my phone with texts.

Yet Valerie, my pinned contact, had sent nothing.

Our chat history was still stuck on the flight itinerary I had sent her four hours ago.

She had never even replied.

I had actually deluded myself into thinking she would come to pick me up, crying with relief just like the girl next to me.

My racing heart, which had been pounding with terror, suddenly went completely flat.

I sent the message: "Let's get a divorce."

A minute later, my phone rang.

It was Valerie.

Her voice was sharp with annoyance. "What is your problem, Luke? What are you throwing a fit about now?"

Swallowing the bitterness in my throat, I asked quietly, "Where are you right now?"

She went silent for a few seconds, probably scrolling back and finally noticing my flight info.

Yet her tone remained aggressive and irritated.

"So what if I forgot to pick you up at the airport? You're a grown man, can't you just call an Uber? Why are you being so dramatic?"

"Threatening divorce over every little thing is getting really old!"

Suddenly, she paused.

In the background, a man's gentle voice called out, "Val, dinner's ready. Come eat!"

"Coming, Chase!"

Her sweet, tender response was a total contrast to the sharp hostility she had just aimed at me.

It was completely sickening.

"Valerie, I mean it this time."

Before she could argue, I hung up.

I sent her the breaking news link, unpinned her contact, and blocked her on everything.

In our five years of marriage, no matter how bad our fights were, I had never once blocked her.

She, on the other hand, did it all the time. Whenever I displeased her in the slightest, she would block me and make me beg for her forgiveness.

Looking back, in almost every situation where I humbled myself to apologize, she was the one at fault.

I loved her so much that I was willing to swallow my pride and spoil her endlessly.

And what was my reward?

Ever since Chase moved back into town, her social media was filled with him, while I, her husband, became an invisible background character.

We had fought countless times, and I had repeatedly lowered my dignity just to keep this fragile marriage alive.

This time, I was truly done.